News release, May 30, 2007G

May 30, 2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
High School/High Tech Youth Leadership Forum to be held in Milledgeville
ATLANTA State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said today that four students from Baldwin County High School in Milledgeville have been selected to attend the Georgia High School/High Tech (HS/HT) Youth Leadership Forum in Baldwin County.
HS/HT is a community-based transition and enrichment initiative for high school students with disabilities designed to develop post-secondary opportunities in math, science, and computer technology career fields.
Entitled "Dare to Soar 2007," the forum will be held Saturday through Tuesday, June 9-12, on the campus of Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. The Baldwin County High students who will attend the forum are Sharod Barrow, Alyssa McDade, Kyle Skinner and Noel Turner.
"These student delegates are outstanding high school juniors and seniors who have demonstrated leadership capabilities in their communities and schools," said Commissioner Thurmond. "We're pleased they're participating in the High School/High Tech program, which is part of the Georgia Department of Labor's continuing efforts to help those with disabilities become an integral part of our state's world-class workforce."
The goal of the forum is to provide delegates with leadership skills and career information that will enhance their personal and professional lives. It does this through small "working groups" that explore personal leadership and career plans. Delegates cultivate leadership, citizenship, and social skills, and gain access to vital resources related to assistive technology, community support, and post-secondary education.
The forum also provides leadership by example. Adults with disabilities who have traveled the same path these young people are facing help delegates realize their ability, right, and obligation to pursue meaningful employment and contribute to society.
Wayne Akins, director of the Student Disability Resource Center at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro and chair of "Dare to Soar 2007," said it is critical for young people with disabilities to learn to identify themselves with pride as individuals and as members of the very accomplished disability community.
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"By providing a framework of history and an atmosphere of encouragement, the forum offers peers with common challenges and experiences the opportunity to learn from one another," Akins said.
Two noted national speakers Betsy Valnes, director of the National Youth Leadership Network, and Olegario Cantos, special assistant to the Assistant Attorney General of the United States and formerly director of the White House Domestic Policy Council -- will address the students at the forum.
The forum is an initiative of the Georgia Department of Labor's Division of Rehabilitation Services and the Georgia Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. It is provided at no cost to participants. Funding and in-kind services are made possible by the Georgia Department of Labor/Vocational Rehabilitation Program, the Georgia State Rehabilitation Council, Georgia College and State University, and Central Georgia Technical College.
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CY-07-204